Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday challenged Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav on his home turf attacking his government for not doing enough for the development of the region and Uttar Pradesh.
Without taking Mulayam’s name, he said: "I do not know what this government is doing. At least it is not performing its duties." Rahul was addressing a large public meeting at Bharthana, from where Mulayam is contesting the Vidhan Sabha election.
Mulayam is expected here again on April 5 to campaign for himself.
"Do you see any development here. I don’t see any," he said adding, “Goondagardi and unemployment is on rise".
"I will come again after the elections and open the doors in the Congress party for the youth here,” he declared amidst thunderous applause from the crowd. "It’s the responsibility of the youth to bring back unity in the society,” he said adding the people in the State had been divided on caste and communal lines over the years.
Taking a dig at Mulayam’s claims that the Centre was not allocating sufficient funds for the state’s Development, Rahul said the Centre allocated maximum funds to Uttar Pradesh. “As much as nearly 40 per cent of the state’s funds come from the Centre. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is sending these funds. The Congress led government is giving these funds,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Taking a dig at Mulayam’s claims that the Centre was not allocating sufficient funds for the state’s Development, Rahul said the Centre allocated maximum funds to Uttar Pradesh. “As much as nearly 40 per cent of the state’s funds come from the Centre. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is sending these funds. The Congress led government is giving these funds,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Rahul also attacked the development plank of the chief minister saying, “Uttar Pradesh used to be on the 5th place in terms of development. It’s on 20th place now."
Rahul’s attack on Mulayam government comes a day before Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s public meeting at Etawah. According to the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) Vice President Satyadev Tripathi, Rahul is the second person from the Nehru-Gandhi family to pay a visit to Bharathna area.
"It was in 1932 that Jawahar Lal Nehru had paid a visit to a nearby village in connection with a farmers’ movement,” Tripathi said.
Earlier, other Congress leaders also attacked the chief minister. “Mulayam Singh Yadav accepted defeat the moment he filed nomination papers against Ajay Yadav," said Satyadev Tripathi adding Mulayam should have avoided contesting against the son of his rival. Ajay Yadav, who is the son of late Balram Singh Yadav, too echoed similar sentiments and urged the people to vote for him to fulfill the dreams of his late father. UPCC President While urging the people to vote for Congress, Salman Khurshid also played the Balram Singh Yadav card. Salman
raised slogans of "Hum Honge Kamyab.